Alate Explained

Alate (Latin ālātus, from āla (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures.^[1]

In entomology

In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form of a social insect, especially ants^[2] or termites,^[3] though it can also be applied to aphids^[4] and some thrips.^[5]

Alate females are referred to as gynes, and are typically those destined to become queens.^[6] A "dealate" is an adult insect that shed or lost its wings ("dealation").^[7]

In botany

In botany, "alate" refers to wing-like structures on some seeds that use wind dispersal. It is also used to describe flattened ridges which run longitudinally on stems.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Book: Collins Dictionary . Collins . Seventh . 2008 . 34 . en . 9780007261123 .
2. Book: Hölldobler . Bert . The ants . Wilson . Edward O. . 1990 . Belknap Press of Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-04075-5 . Cambridge, Mass.
3. Mill . Alan E. . June 1983 . Observations on Brazilian termite alate swarms and some structures used in the dispersal of reproductives (Isoptera: Termitidae) . Journal of Natural History . en . 17 . 3 . 309–320 . 10.1080/00222938300770231 . 0022-2933.
4. Hodgson . E. W. . Venette . R. C. . Abrahamson . M. . Ragsdale . D. W. . 2005-12-01 . Alate Production of Soybean Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) in Minnesota . Environmental Entomology . en . 34 . 6 . 1456–1463 . 10.1603/0046-225X-34.6.1456. free .
5. Gilbert . James D. J. . Simpson . Stephen J. . October 2013 . Natural history and behaviour of Dunatothrips aneurae Mound (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), a phyllode-gluing thrips with facultative pleometrosis: Natural History of Dunatothrips Aneurae . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . en . 109 . 4 . 802–816 . 10.1111/bij.12100. free .
6. Ho . Eddie K. H. . Frederickson . Megan E. . November 2014 . Alate susceptibility in ants . Ecology and Evolution . en . 4 . 22 . 4209–4219 . 10.1002/ece3.1291 . 2045-7758 . 4267860 . 25540683. 2014EcoEv...4.4209H .
7. Tian . Haisheng . Vinson . S. Bradleigh . Coates . Craig J. . 2004-09-01 . Differential gene expression between alate and dealate queens in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) . Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology . 34 . 9 . 937–949 . 10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.06.004 . 15350613 . 2004IBMB...34..937H . 0965-1748.
8. Book: Harrison , Lorraine . Latin for Gardeners . . 2012 . 20 . en . 9781845337315 .